Magnetic Engine Block Heater

[buickanddeere]

Forget the dipstick heaters.

For simplicity and ease throw a tarp over the engine and use a small electric heater with fan.

Keeping the engine tuned up and using clean fuel also helps.

That's wasting a lot of heat and power which some people here are so concerned about . They are so cheap they think a snort of ether is cheaper than plugging in a block heater.
A frost plug heater or an external tank heater is the only practical method of heating a liquid cooled engine.

 

[buickanddeere]

Seasons Greetings Folks

Relatively new to this forum and this is a great discussion. I am seeking more in-depth advice on cold weather starting (heating) on my two tractors.

My 1948 International C tractor has no frost plugs visible (Correct me if wrong), No Oil dip stick for heater stick and radiator hoses < 6 inches so tank heater not optional.

There is a 400 watt magnetic stick on block (oil pan) heater available on Amazon for $62.99.
Anyone have luck with a high wattage (> 400 watts) stick on heater? Sounds like the problems folks shared were with low wattage heaters.

My 1977 Yanmar twin-Cylinder diesel tractor has No frost plugs to my knowledge. Diameter of tank heater is smaller than the radiator hose diameters so not workable. Yanmar uses British Tapered Threads so threads for SAE heated dip stick does not match up.

No heater options until a Yanmar third-party parts supplier recently developed in-house a new water pump backing plate [$129.84] that comes with a port that is ï½½ NPT thread for a screw in 400 watt block engine heater [$47.83] (guess it looks like a frost plug heater).

Can anyone recommend by brand name a really high wattage block or Frost plug heater that uses ½ inch NPT thread they personally had success with in their tractor?

I am in Northern MN and last two weeks the high each day has been below zero and low as minus 22 and that is not wind chill.

Tractors are stored year round in unheated weatherproof buildings but no difference between inside and out side temps.

My dad left me these tractors but not the knowledge to maintain them so learning as I go from forums like this one


Thanx!

Ron

Tank heaters do not tie into rad hoses. Rad hose heaters can dump much of the heat into the radiator instead of heating the engine.

There has to be a coolant drain plug at the bottom of the cylinder bore coolant jacket. Tap into it for the tank's lower cold leg.
Somewhere along the cylinder head or near the engine side of the thermostat. There has to be a port or plug for applications with cab heaters. That port is also for the top hose from the tank heater.
Only 1/2" dia heater I could find is a Phillips &Temro oil/water immersion heater. A puny 300W and uses a 5" long heating element.

 

[Egon]

Don't think a 1948 International C ever seen a cab heater. Maybe a heat houser.

 

[sixdogs]

If you do a search on Amazon or just Google, check out Kat's hose heaters... They make a hose type heater all the way down to a 1" hose... and on up. Maybe you can find one that will fit your tractor. Kat's is also the manufacturer of a lot of the freeze plug type heaters... and has been around for a long time.. You can also use the mag units on a flat area on the block...

Good advice. Kats has been the best for me and is widely regarded the same by the guys I knew. It's the only brand I would buy.

 

[buickanddeere]

Don't think a 1948 International C ever seen a cab heater. Maybe a heat houser.

I was thinking about the Yanmar

 

[TomSeller]

Here is a block heater listing by manufacturer (not seeing a 2 cyl Yanmar, however)

http://www.phillipsandtemro.com/userfiles/file/2013_ZEROSTART_CATALOG.pdf

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Here is a block heater listing by manufacturer (not seeing a 2 cyl Yanmar, however)

http://www.phillipsandtemro.com/userfiles/file/2013_ZEROSTART_CATALOG.pdf

Thanks for the reference catalog. We now have a ZeroStart off of Ebay $26.50 to the door on the way. Looked at the Kat brand but it pulls 720 watts where the ZeroStart only is 600 watts which is the max hour after hour output of our 2 stroke HF generator. The backhoe sometimes gets parked far from an outlet so this generator would give us four hours of run time at that load in case we needed it in freezing weather.

 

[rkelner]

Folks - Thanx! Great stuff and you have helped me and I will do some more research. Though somewhat confused thought that tank heaters fit between the hoses connecting radiator and engine jacket. Guess not and so will have to look for a diagram or photo of an installed tank heater to see what it looks like.

Difficult to explain but the 1948 International C does not have a water pump or thermostat - uses thermosipon heat transfer to move anti-freeze from radiator into water jackets and back to radiator. It has both an upper and lower hoses between the radiator and the front of the engine and assume each hose lines up with the two openings of the engine water jacket (one on each side of engine). But the lower radiator hose connects to a pipe fitting that bolts onto front of tractor. Coming out of the bottom of this fitting is a vertical 3/8" pipe 6 inches long that is used to drain the radiator and I guess the water jackets since the bottom of the valve where the 3/8" pipe exits is slightly lower than the radiator.

Maybe I can some how hook a tank heater onto the 3/8" drain pipe though it would only flow one-way? There are no other openings anywhere on the International C other than the two radiator hoses and drain pipe. We are talking a 65 year old simply designed tractor.

The Yanmar 2210D has no frost plugs or any openings as suggested by replies. Just 3 radiator hoses which I can't understand (2 hoses make sense) and a water pump. I think that is why Hoye Tractor designed, mfg and sells the replacement water pump backing plate with the 1/2 inch NPT threaded port for a block engine heater. Will check out KAT brand and see if they have a 1/2 inch NPT threaded 800 to 1000 watt block heater with element < 2 to 3 inches in length. Longer heater element will not fit inside the water pump backing plate.

Thanx Gentleman! You have me moving in the right direction. Think I will buy water pump backing plate if I can find a threaded 1/2 inch NPT block heater. The International C may not be workable for any type of engine heater.

Seasons Greetings

Ron

 

[buickanddeere]

The third hose maybe a bypass around the stat ? If so it will work for the top hose from the tank heater IF the hoses are slopped properly. Then there must be a drain port somewhere for the tanks lower hose ?
The international C may need a 23/32' drill bit and a 1/2" pipe taper tap.

 

[buickanddeere]

I suppose of you can rig everything so that convection carries the heat up into the engine and the cooler denser coolant will flow in form the rad. If there is a bypass around the stat.
Then again with an 1-1/2" line with a straight rise into the engine. It would probably work even without flow in from the rad. It would bubble and gurgle away lifting steam bubbles and hot water with cooler water falling back into the element assembly all in that 1-1/2" hose. Closer to the engine would be better.